Pythons’ extreme biology may hold clues for treating human disease – NPR
These snakes can go for months without eating, grow and shrink the size of their hearts and jump start their metabolism on a dime.
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When Skip Maas first adopted Agrapina, a mottled ball python, she hadn’t eaten in 14 months.
But as he soon observed, she was still a taut coil of spring-loaded muscle. Presented with a rat, she struck quickly, constricted it and then gorged on her meal.
And then her body performed another feat pythons are known for: It accelerated its metabolism dramatically to deal with the sudden influx of protein and fats, says Maas, “to help break down that meal and extract all of its nutrients.”
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Most people prefer to keep their distance from pythons — and for good reason. A quick strike followed by relentless constriction can be lethal. But Maas, a molecular biologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, and his colleagues argue that these snakes may hold secrets that could help people live longer and better.
In addition to being able to fast for weeks or months and still maintain muscle tone, they’re able to grow and shrink their heart and other organs during feast and famine with seemingly no issue.
